Our Story

Founded in Paris in 1703, the Congregation of the Holy Spirit began life as the Seminary of the Holy Spirit. This seminary was founded by a young and brilliant law student, Claude Poullart des Places, who gave up his career to dedicate his life to the service of the poor. He died at the age of thirty during an outbreak of pleurisy. Faithful to his wishes, his brothers in community buried him in the paupers' grave. The purpose of the seminary was to train young men to become priests at the service of the poorer sections of society.

In 1848 a young missionary congregation dedicated to the Holy Heart of Mary joined with the Spiritans to become the religious missionary congregation that we know today. This group was founded by a convert from Judaism, Francis Libermann (pictured), and their first works brought them to serve in Africa and with freed slaves. So from the beginning our religious community has been marked by a strong multi-cultural dimension where mission has been understood, essentially, as leaving one's home and country to discover the presence of Christ in peoples of other cultures and traditions.

In this Section...

Founded in Paris in 1703, the Congregation of the Holy Spirit began life as the Seminary of the Holy Spirit. This seminary was founded by a young and brilliant law student, Claude Poullart des Places, who gave up his career to dedicate his life to the service of the poor. He died at the age of thirty during an outbreak of pleurisy. Faithful to his wishes, his brothers in community buried him in the paupers' grave. The purpose of the seminary was to train young men to become priests at the service of the poorer sections of society.
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We are a missionary congregation. We seek to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the witness of our life and by our respect and desire to dialogue with men and women of every faith and none. We believe deeply that we meet Christ in everyone... Read more »

We seek to live close to the people with whom we work. Our communities are often small. More and more we are taking up the challenge of international living. In a world which can be marked by prejudice, suspicion... Read more »

We often talk about vocation when someone wishes to give his / her life to the service of others. Vocation is about a call and invitation. Jesus called his disciples by inviting them to come and follow him. But this call and invitation is often the result of a questioning about one's life or a desire to do something worthwhile with it. We can read about this in St. John's Gospel (Chapter 1, Verses 35 – 39). Read more »

As each candidate for formation is unique so the Formation Programme adapts itself, where necessary, to the individual needs of each candidate. But there are some essential elements: 1. Living in Spiritan community... Read more »

About us

We are a Roman Catholic Congregation of Priests, Brothers and Lay Associates. Our congregation was founded in Paris in 1703 by a young 24 year old Breton Lawyer, Claude Poullart des Places.

He founded a community for young men who wished to become priests and dedicated it to the Holy Spirit.